Mental health outcomes for war exposed children and adolescents in the Arab World

Abstract EN

Many countries in the Arab world have witnessed war.

The purpose of the current review is to look at the effect of exposure to war traumata on the mental health of children and adolescents in the Arab world.

Method: A literature review about the effect of war exposure on the mental health of children/adolescents was conducted for all countries in the Arab world up to September 15, 2014 using the search engines PubMed, and PsycINFO.

Results: A total of 67 articles were included in the review: seven about Iraq, one about Jordan, nine about Kuwait, nine about Lebanon, 35 about Palestine, two about Somalia, three about Sudan and one about Syria.

A consistent finding was the significant positive association between the number of war traumata and the rates/severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression/depressive symptoms, behavioral problems, and other psychological symptoms.

Conclusion: Wars have consistently and negatively impacted the mental health of children and adolescents in the Arab world.

Mental health interventions are required for children and adolescents who have been exposed to war.